//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Another Day, Another Dungeon // by 00Pony //------------------------------// “Don’t go believing in the ‘you’ that believes in me, or even the ‘me’ that believes in you. Believe in the ‘you’, that believes in yourself... Basically, just have faith in yourself!” Regret. Fear. Sadness. These were only a fraction of the many emotions that Daring found coursing through her mind. She had let this mare come along. Twilight Velvet had been her responsibility. And now where had that gotten her? Dead, for all Daring knew. Flattened beneath debris or engulfed by the magma that was reaching ever so close to the Pegasus’ hooves. She didn’t want to leave. Not for the first time that day did she wish that her wing was mended, so she might fly over the debris and try to rescue her friend. But it was not to be. As it was, the only thing Daring could do was get herself out. Glancing around in a panicked fervor, she noticed that some of the pillars that had lined the chamber’s walls had fallen, and the majority of their mass was still above the molten stone. And conveniently, they ran close to the opening in the chamber’s ceiling. It seemed that at least some of Daring Do’s luck had held out. The Pegasus geared herself up for the jump for only a second, and leapt. In the nick of time, it seemed, as the pedestal on which she had previously stood was now swallowed by the hot, liquid stone. Daring didn’t stop to look back, and kept running up the length of the pillar. She leapt to one more when the one she had been standing on shifted. The Pegasus landed safely on the second pillar, which led her even closer to the opening. The magma had been rising at a frighteningly fast speed. Upon reaching the tip of the pillar, Daring Do gathered her strength, and took a leap of faith for the opening. By the grace of the Princess, she made it, if only just. Her forehooves caught the edge, and the Pegasus began to try and pull herself out. It did not seem to be working, and she slipped slightly. But it seemed that fate still smiled upon her. Well, fate and nature. The pressure from the heat that had been building up inside the chamber had only one exit: The hole to which Daring Do was clinging. As the steam and pressure gathered beneath her the closer the molten rock came, Daring found her job was only marginally easier. But she would not have to pull any longer. With a start, she found herself being launched upwards, out of the hole and into the air. For a brief second, she found herself entering into free fall. Normally, this kind of thing was something that she enjoyed, and would often do to get a little thrill. However, the experience was not enjoyable by any means when one did not possess wings with which to break their fall. Daring Do cried out in frustration and fear as she began to pick up speed in her descent. She might not be killed by the fall, but she would certainly take a lot of damage from it. And there was no telling what would be coming for her then. So, Daring Do made a choice. As she fell, the Pegasus spread her wings, both injured and non-injured, and caught herself. It had the desired effect, and she slowed in her speed, leveling out slightly. The worst she might sustain from a fall of this distance would be some bad bruises and a whole lot of sore muscles. The adventurer winced as her injured wing seized painfully, and refused to operate any longer. With a growl, she began to fall again. Luckily, her estimation on the damage she might sustain was correct. Daring hit the ground painfully, bouncing once or twice and coming to a sliding halt. Her hat had managed to fall off of her head in the fall, and the Sapphire Statue fell out of it, coming to a stop a few feet ahead of her, unscathed. Daring painfully lifted herself up and slapped her hat back onto her head, and began to make for the artifact when the sound of a familiar, thickly accented voice stopped her in her tracks, and sent her heart rate skyrocketing, “Hello, Daring Do. It is so very nice of you to visit.” Ahuizotl said, a sinister chuckle playing backdrop to his greeting. /)*(\ Twilight Velvet awoke with a groan. It took the Unicorn about half a minute to fully come to her senses. She was happy to find they were all still functioning. She recognized this sensation. It was the same state that she had found herself in after teleporting off of the roof back in Caballo the previous day, “So that’s what happened…” She thought to herself, “Emotions got all worked up, and I just drained my entire magical reserve getting away…” Despite wanting to, Velvet made no attempt to get up. Not fully, at least. The mare sat up from her curled up position, and looked about. She was in the brush of the jungle, she knew that much. How far from the temple, and Daring Do, she did not know. Velvet started, coming to a frightening realization. She had teleported herself out of a room filling with magma, and she left Daring behind! What became of the Pegasus? Velvet began to feel very anxious, going over many different possibilities for what had become of her friend. Eventually, she managed to calm down and think rationally again. Daring Do was an adventurous and resourceful mare. If anypony could find their way out of a situation like that without magic, it was her. But with that resolved and out of the way, a new question quickly moved to fill its place: Where exactly was Daring Do now? Velvet stood slowly, stretching her tired limbs for a second before she slowly began to creep through the underbrush. It would have been quicker to move onto a clearer path, for there was one not too far from her – it was in seeing range – something in her gut told her that doing so would be a bad idea. She might have been crawling through the vegetation for about a minute when she heard a series of noises not produced by her. There were the sounds of many creatures walking, and a voice that was… singing? As the sounds grew closer, Twilight Velvet lowered herself as flat as she could go, and she lay very still, moving only to part the vegetation before her so she might peer out. What she saw caused her heart to stop beating for a second. A large, strange dog-like creature was walking down the path, its long tail snaking out behind it, and wrapping around something. No, not something. Someone! Velvet’s eyes widened and she had to stop herself from leaping out upon seeing just who was being held. Daring Do, only semi-conscious, was being held aloft by the tail, and held above her by the hand-like paw at the end of it, was the Sapphire Statue! So this beast was the spirit, Ahuizotl. He was both impressive, and frightening to Velvet. His fur was dark, nearly black, with some sections in a darker blue. He wore some golden embroidery, and his two forepaws were much like the one on his tail. But most bizarre to Velvet, was the placement of his eyes. While his head was structured much like a dog’s – she noticed now that it was much like those on the statue – his eyes were not positioned near the base of the snout, like a normal dog’s. Rather, they were on the end, above the mouth, where his nose might be found. Adding more to the frightening visage were the numerous, long teeth that protruded from his jaw. Somehow, they did not make his voice any less understandable as he sang on, in what the Unicorn assumed was a language of his own. Velvet lay very still, watching as Ahuizotl sauntered down the path, followed by the same group of cats that had pursued Velvet and Daring only an hour or so before. Had it only been an hour? For all Velvet knew, she and Daring could have been in that temple for the better part of the new day. That might explain why she was so tired, aside from having no magical energy in her reserve. With a pang of terror, Velvet was brought back to reality as something crossed her vision. It was the paw of a cat. It belonged to the tiger, to be precise. The predatory feline had stepped very close to her, its paw only mere inches from her nose. Her pupils dilated, and eyes wide, Velvet watched, holding her breath and waiting. Time seemed to stretch on forever, and what was really only a few seconds, felt like hours. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears in a steady drumbeat rhythm. Her lungs cried out for oxygen, but Velvet dared not, for fear she might disclose her location. Luckily, the cat had begun to move again. It went off at a quick pace to catch up with its master and fellow predators. Twilight Velvet let out her breath, as quickly and silently as she could. She took in two deep breaths before she was able to breathe relatively normal again. And now, she had a mission. She knew where her friend and their prize were, and she could not bear to think what might happen to the Pegasus. So Velvet fought back her own doubts, and her own fears as she came to her resolution. It was as Daring Do had told her only seconds before they had crashed, ‘Don’t go believing in the ‘you’ that believes in me, or even the ‘me’ that believes in you. Believe in the ‘you’, that believes in yourself... Basically, just have faith in yourself!’ And that was exactly what Twilight Velvet planned to do. The Unicorn mare stood, and quietly began to make her way after Ahuizotl, following the sound of his voice. She was going to get her friend out of this mess, and in doing so, prove to herself that she was not a weak mare that needed protecting. She was going to prove to herself that she was capable, and that she too, could be brave, just like Daring Do!